If I’m dismissed, I’ll accept it but I wont resign – Alban Bagbin

• Posted on November 5, 2013November 5, 2013
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Former Health Minister, Alban Sumana Bagbin has rejected suggestions he may have to resign his current post in government as a member of a three-man presidential task force on priority projects.

Bagbin appears to be on a collision course with the President and some of his immediate assigns after going public with what he says was a not too enthusiastic commitment to fight corruption in government, a situation he says has led to widespread disenchantment among party grassroots and threatens the fortunes of the ruling party at the next polls.

His several attempts to get the attention of the presidency and to bring home his concerns, he said, had yielded no fruit as the presidency offered one reason after another why a meeting could not be held.

On Monday his host during a discussion on Radio Gold 90.5FM, Alhassan Suhuyini asked him if he would resign his post on principle and more so seeing that his position appeared to be at variance with what the government thought, to which he responded in the negative, explaining that a resignation would be a defeatist approach. Besides, he was not working for the president but for the people of Ghana whose interest he sought.

Moments after the radio interview, Deputy Information and Media Relations Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu posted on his Facebook wall: “I hold the view that the Hon. Alban Bagbin has made his continued stay in government untenable with his conduct.”

“So would you resign, because of this?” Asked Suhuyini.

“That is defeatist. That is defeatist, if you ask all my colleagues, I always say that the best thing is to stay in and fight to correct things than to be outside. That is the best thing. If I am dismissed, I will accept it but to take a defeatist attitude by resigning, that is not the best thing to do.”

“But if you think the president is fighting you and you are daring him to bring it on, how do you work with him.”

“Oh! See I’m working for the country oo, I’m working for the country…”

“At his behest as president.”

“That is not the case. NDC is supposed to be in power, you understand. I was part of all the people who went round to promise the youth, everybody to vote for us, ok. So if I have that opportunity, I have to serve the people. It is the case that the letter emanates from the president but I’m not serving the president, I’m serving Ghanaians.”

“He requested you to serve Ghanaians.”

“Oh! You think so. So as you are made a board member, you think as a board member you are there to serve the president?”

“I was requested to serve the president and I have the option to decline if I think I can’t do that. I was requested to serve Ghana by the president and I think that you were requested to serve Ghana by the president.”

“Ahaaa! I’m happy you said “to serve Ghana by the president”. So if the president now feels that his request for me to serve Ghanaians I’m not doing so he should withdraw it.”

Story by Isaac Yeboah